Thursday, July 28, 2011

Atheists ask judge to order removal of 9/11 memorial cross

A US atheist group has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order the removal of a cross-shaped steel beam at the 9/11 memorial in New Yorkor request that other religions and nonreligious views be equally represented.

The cross was found amid the wreckage from the terrorist attacks by a construction worker who said he stumbled onto a miracle. It was last weekend moved to the Ground Zero memorial – due to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in September – after a blessing by a Catholic priest. It is to become part of the permanent collection of a 9/11 museum opening next year.

Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists, the group which filed the lawsuit, said its main concern was equality.

He said 9/11 was an American tragedy, "but the Christian community has secured sole representation in the memorial for itself at the exclusion of other religions and philosophies."